Barrington makes an impact
Barrington has not been much of a factor in the area badminton scene in recent years.
This year has been much different. The Fillies fourth-place finish in the Mid-Suburban League tournament was their best in the 12-year tenure of coach Ted deBruin.
“The commitment and the ability level, we haven’t had these kinds of players,” said deBruin, whose team lost senior No. 3 singles player Mandy Johnson to a torn ACL in the first match of the season. “I thought we’d be competitive, but to get this far with what we had, it’s been a dream year.”
That included Barrington’s first MSL title in eight years when senior Sydney Slager won at No. 3 singles.
“It’s a been a great year,” Slager said. “We’ve always been at the bottom since I’ve been on the team and this is the first year we’ve really done this well.
“We’re all clicking and the whole team works really well together and is really motivated. It’s been really fun.”
The Fillies hope to continue having fun at 4:30 p.m. Friday when they play in the Maine East sectional. The last time they had a state qualifier was 2004.
Hannah Gross and Shirley Ni, who took third at No. 2 singles in the MSL, will play singles. Slager and her sophomore sister Alyssa will play doubles with Courtney Harrison and Emily Sullivan.
“We’ve never had kids compete to figure out who is going (to sectionals),” deBruin said. “It’s the deepest team I’ve ever had top to bottom.”
It won’t be easy to get through to Charleston. The sectional field includes Stevenson and standout Wan Wan Liu, Prospect and returning state qualifiers Jackie Hertrich and Shea Gallus and Wheeling and returning state qualifier Hannah Park.
Even though Sydney Slager won singles, she had no plans to break up the sister act with Alyssa.
“We just want to have fun,” Sydney said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen but we work really well together and I love having her as a partner.”
The top four sectional finishers in singles and doubles advance to the state finals at Charleston’s Eastern Illinois University.
Pursuing perfection: Senoirs Nell Boyd and Michelle Byjos take a perfect doubles record into Friday’s 4:30 p.m. Buffalo Grove sectional.
Boyd was in her first year of badminton last season when she teamed with Byjos to finish fourth in state and help the Bison win the second-place team trophy.
“We are playing great together,” said Boyd, who also had a perfect singles record en route to the MSL’s No. 2 title. “From last year, even though fourth was amazing, this year we’ve taken leaps and bounds in communication and knowing where each other is on the court.
“We’re playing so much better than we did last year.”
Jenny Krewer and Alanna Zawlocki will also be at doubles with Eleanore Chan and Kelsey Hendrickson at singles in a field that includes Glenbrook South and Maine West.
“They’ve come from being two JV players last year to the point where they’re going to compete against some of the best kids in the state,” said BG coach Chris Van Grondelle, “and they’re competing.”
Glenbrook South’s Angela Cho and Olivia Nelson won the No. 1 doubles title in the Central Suburban League title.
Maine West’s duo of Sarah Gangl and Katrina Mira is also hoping to get to state.
“It’s like the football playoffs,” Van Grondelle said. “It’s nice to get a chance to go up against somebody else and see some new blood.”
Fremd’s familiar surroundings: After winning its fifth straight MSL title, Fremd received the top seed and will host a sectional at 4:30 p.m. today with Conant, Maine South, Deerfield and Zion-Benton.
Freshman Angela Wu and junior Annie Huang will play singles after coach Bob Hanson contemplated putting them together at doubles.
“To come in second (at No. 1 singles) as a freshman in conference is a pretty big accomplishment,” Hanson said of Wu. “I’m proud of how she handled the pressure as a freshman. Maggie (Palatine’s Van Grondelle showed some things we need to work on.”
Hanson also juggled his doubles lineup to put Kelly Owens with Ji Young Seo. Shannon Fitzgerald will with Maya Sugikawa after they won the No. 3 MSL doubles crown.
Still doubles trouble: Even though Palatine junior Maggie Van Grondelle won the No. 1 MSL singles title she wasn’t about to go it alone at sectionals.
Van Grondelle and her sister Katie, who is now a freshman at Minnesota, won a pair of state medals. Maggie hopes to make it three straight years with Tomoyo Tsurumi when they compete today at 4:30 p.m. in the New Trier sectional.
“We’ll definitely stick with doubles,” Van Grondelle said. “We’ve had a great season so far and competed with some great teams.”
Van Grondelle and Tsurumi won New Trier’s Featherfest crown. Their only losses are twice to Fremd’s Angela Wu and Annie Huang and to BG’s Nell Boyd and Michelle Byjos.
Hersey and Hoffman Estates will also be at New Trier.
Schaumburg and Elk Grove will be at Glenbard East at 4:30 p.m. today. Schaumburg’s Sara Partington qualified for state last year and Roshni Patel battled through an ankle injury to finish second at No. 3 singles in the MSL.
Leyden will be in the Glenbard South sectional at 4:30 p.m. Friday.